Aston, Dianna. An Egg is Quiet. (ill by
Sylvia Long.) Chronicle Books, 2006.
In an elegantly over-sized format (double
page spreads are ll”xl7 l/2”), artist Long
provides pastel, lushly detailed watercolor
illustrations for the simple text. A list of
qualities (ie: an egg is shapely) is accompanied by more detailed information telling
interesting, little known facts (ie: some sharks do begin life as eggs). Ample white space
showcases the wide variety of subtle color differences among eggs and the pages are
large enough for the artist to show size differences effectively. Comparisons are helpful:
it would take 2000 hummingbird eggs to equal the size of a single ostrich egg. The book
stretches children’s thinking: who would think an egg is “artistic?” Aston did, and Long
shows that so effectively. The book is an unexpected delight.
John Warren Stewig
Carthage College